Resurrecting the 270 Win

[bruce moulds]

I remember talking to dave talley who had just returned from an elk hunt.
when I asked him if he used a 338 he became very distainful.
he said, as only he could express it, that all you need is a good i50 gn bullet in a 270.
bruce.

 

[bruce moulds]

coelkhunter,
the 9.3x64 looks exactly like the 338 win mag with the belt turned off, and necked up to 9.3mm.
rws makes excellent brass, so that might be a place to start looking.
once you have some you are under way.
I had a 375, and was very happy with the round, but read that the x64 is on a par with it in a 30/06 length action.
the case can hold 76 gn of ar 2209 (rebadged as h4350) with a little compression, and can give full ballistics to 286 and 293 gn bullets with that powder.
it can drive a 300 gn bullet at over 2550, but I have never gone past that so can't say the limit.
from my memory of the 375, and shooting on game with a guy using one, on camels we can tell no difference.
the 300 swift has a greater s.d. than a 300 gn 375, so at the same speed any difference is on paper.
it can be loaded back to 9.3x 62 ballistics if that suits the job, or send the same bullets up to 200 fps faster if required.
that 200 fps is significant when thinking point blank range +/- 3".
my rifle is a mkx mauser with the correct barrel (Lothar walther prechambered), and the boltface redone, no other change.
feeds slick and reliable.
I got mine because I had to know how it compared to a 375.
not everyone is that keen.
bruce.

 

[BenKK]

Years ago my mate bought a Ruger .270 and loaded some cute little Woodleigh PPSNs. He wanted to shoot a buffalo and I told him he was a dickhead and he should use his .375H&H. Anyway, he found a grand old bull out on a nearly-dry swamp, and to my consternation he aimed and fired. The bull simply ran away... and fell-over dead about twenty metres later. Fast-forward about ten years and I took the shopkeeper out for his first bull. He had a Ruger .270 also, a really old one that had culled thousands of goats down in the Flinders. He had TSXs loaded, so I was confident. Sure enough, easy as pie, a good bull that advanced on us did a little sprint and tipped-over. The .270 works fine. I won’t ever get one, as there are other cartridges that I like more, like the 7x57mm. But I do respect the .270.

 

[bruce moulds]

ben,
it would be hard to say how many station guys have shot big things with 150 gn power points from 308s.
generally targets of opportunity, or something like one of the neighbour's bulls.
I have done it myself.
the loads you describe in those 270s would be deadlier on big stuff.
did that ruger from sth aust come from a deceased estate?
if so I might know it.
bruce.

 

[BenKK]

G’day Bruce, no, my friend and neighbour did a spell of shopkeeping for a sea change after retiring from farming down in country he called The Riverina if memory serves. He had owned that old Ruger for approximately several decades and swore by it.

 

[Dr Ray]

I used to be pretty infatuated with the .270 win, but I got over that once I found the .280 AI, which IMO is one of the finest hunting cartridges of all time.

Jack O'Conner spent a lot of time talking up the .270 as the ultimate sheep hunting round, but the 26 Nosler shoots a lot flatter through wind and hits a whole lot harder, though with more recoil.

I think you are making look at the 28 caliber. I guess I’m easily lead (and weak willed)[emoji4]

 

[bruce moulds]

doc,
when you get one you will have a lot of work to do.
there is an amazing range of bullet wts available in 7mm, as well as different costructions.
then you have to shoot a statistically meaningful number of game with each to get a valid comparison, within the 7mm calibre and with other calibres.
bruce.

 

[Steel Candy]

I love the .270 Win. I have never had anything take more than half a step after hitting it with mine. Old Remington 700 mountain with the wood Monte Carlo stock. Deer, hogs, elk, gator, bear. 219 yards for the elk being the longest shot. 130 gr CorLokt ammo after the airplane lost my ammo box and I had to buy off the self ammo. 140 gr ballistic tip Nosler for a while but too much meat loss so I switched to 140 gr Accubond.

 

[Red Devil]

150gr A-Frame @ 2990 fps kills deer and hogs just the right amount of dead for me.

Is this a typo... or a Thermonuclear load?




Red

 

[Ray B]

Is this a typo... or a Thermonuclear load?




Red

2990 fps with a 150 gr bullet is possible in some rifles. I had a M70 that would chronograph 150 gr Nosler partitions at 3000 fps, but the barrel had lost its accuracy (which may have accounted for its ability to utilize heavier loads) so it was rebarrelled. The new barrel is much more accurate but optimum pressure (using the Ken Waters' method) limits the loads to about 2900fps, which is still plenty able to get the job done.

 

[YancyW]

Is this a typo... or a Thermonuclear load?




Red

No, I have a 22" Ruger M77 I get 2940 and a 24" Cooper M52 that I get the 2990.

For the Cooper, I use a max charge IMR 7977, worked out a little better than H1000.

 

[JakeH]

Is this a typo... or a Thermonuclear load?




Red

Factories always report a on the hot side, but according to Swift they sell a 150gr A Frame in the .270 loaded to 2986 FPS.

 

[colorado]

I remember talking to dave talley who had just returned from an elk hunt.
when I asked him if he used a 338 he became very distainful.
he said, as only he could express it, that all you need is a good i50 gn bullet in a 270.
bruce.

I've killed many elk, mule deer and bears with my 270 Win. 150g Nosler Partitions at 3000 fps is a deadly combination.

 

[greyfox]

If I knew then what I know now, I'd bought a 270 and a 375 and been done for 90% of hunting the world.

 

[Ray B]

There are a few categories of huntable animals, generally classed as small game (less than 50 pounds), ungulates in about three size groups, then there are the big cats and the thick skinned dangerous game. There are certain minimum requirements for the qualities of the bullets used to kill these animals. These qualities include the bullets size, speed and construction so as to cause the desired quantity and quality of tissue damage to the target animal. Conversations have been endless regarding the application of specific cartridges to the various applications and as has been noted in this thread, the 270 Winchester may be used to adequately kill animals in several of the above noted groups. My question is not whether or not a 270 will successfully accomplish this or that task, but to what reason does the hunter choose to limit him/herself to but one or possibly two cartridges? I have found that using firearms causes a link between the user and the firearm so that as much as possible with an inanimate object, a friendship develops. The question of using one or two firearms for everything gets to the personality of the user. there are those that prefer to have a very intimate understanding of one rifle- all of its quirks, beauty and history. There are others that will know each firearm quite well, but recognize even subtle differences between it and other similar firearms. The former will utilize his/her friend to its absolute limits while the latter will select the one of his/her several friends that is best suited for the task at hand. So the answer is a question: Are you the personality type that has one or two very close friends, to the near exclusion of other acquaintances; or are you more gregarious, seeking to know several people and learn their quirks and qualities?

 

[Hogpatrol]

@Ray B, Damn Ray, Are you talking about guns or women?

 

[Steel Candy]

There was a time here in the states that the 270 was a great all around gun, mule deer, and elk but now the bullets apparently just bounce off if you don't have a 300 ultra mag.

So it is not just in my area that the deer must be wearing vests because I see people with .300 ultra mags, short mags, even .338s. Even with cornfield feeding deer 250 pounds, most 200 or under from what I see, is pretty big in my area.

 

[TMac]

So it is not just in my area that the deer must be wearing vests because I see people with .300 ultra mags, short mags, even .338s. Even with cornfield feeding deer 250 pounds, most 200 or under from what I see, is pretty big in my area.

It’s all the Kevlar for hair they have now I suspect... I am seeing the same thing around here. Was common in outdoor rags some years back to call a 338WM the best choice for Elk, great choice if you can handle it, many casual hunters can’t.

An outfitter here I know, does lots of cow elk hunts to reduce crop damage, he can tell some horror stories. He’d rather a hunter use a 243 with 100gr cup and core pills on a broadside shot, than show up with a shiny new Uber magnum. These are usually 250 yards and under shots at 450 -600lb ish animals, 100gr in the heart/lungs, the game is quickly over.

 

[Steel Candy]

When I went for elk I took my .270 and the 1 way more experienced guy asked me if I planned on throwing it at the elk because it would never kill one. His shiny .338 looked awful nice, but I was the only 1 in the group that didn't need to track an elk.

 

[TMac]

When I went for elk I took my .270 and the 1 way more experienced guy asked me if I planned on throwing it at the elk because it would never kill one. His shiny .338 looked awful nice, but I was the only 1 in the group that didn't need to track an elk.

Not surprised. Good shooting. My most recent branch bull, last year, bang flop to a 130gr. TTSX out of a 270. My son’s spike fell to the same gun on that hunt. No tracking needed. A 338 Edge was in camp along with another magnum (forget which), both wounded and lost elk. Made me sick.